Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-01-15


rection. Blessed be God for the saving min
istry of Christian children
No wonder the advice Of thislittle Hebrew
captive threw all Naamans mansion and
Ben-hadad's palace into excitement. Good
bye. Naamanl With face scarified and ridged
and inf1amed by the pestilence aud aided
BY those who supported him on either side,
be staggered out to the chariot Hold fast
the fiery coursers of the royal stable while
the Door sick man lifts his swollen feet and
pain-struck limbs into the vehicle. Bolster
him up with the pillows and let him take
lingering look at his bright apartment, for
perhaps the Hebrew captive may be mistaken,
and the next time Naaman comes to that
place he may be q dead weight on ths shout.
ders of those who carry him-an expired
chieftan seeking sepulture amid the lamenta-
tions of an admiring nation. Good bye, Naa-
mani
Let the charioteer drive gently over the
hills of Hermon lest he jolt the invalid. Here
goes the bravest man Of all his day captive
Of horrible disease. As the ambulance
winds through the streets Of Damascus the
tears and prayers of all the people 60 after
the world-renowned invalid Perhaps you
have had an invalid go out from your house
on o health excursion. You know how the
neighbors stood around and said "Ah, he
will never come back again alive" Oh,
it was a solemn moment l tell you when
the invalid had departed and you went
into the room to make the bed,
and to remove the medicine phals from the
shelf and to throw open the shutters so that
the fresh air might rush into the long-closed
room. Goodbye Naamanl There is only
one cheerful face looking at him, and that Is
the face Of the little Hebrew captive, who is
sure he will get cured and who is so glad she
helped him. As the chariot winds out and
the escort of mounted courtiers and the
mules ladened with sacks ofgold and silver
and embroidered suits of apparel went
through the gates of Damascus and out on
the long way, the hills of Naphtali and Eph
rain look down on the procession, and the
retinue goes right past the battlefelds whore
Naaman, in the days of his health, used to
rally his troops for fearful onset, and then
the procession stops and reclines while in
the groves Of olives and oleander-and Gen.
eral Naaman SO sick; so very, very sickl
How the countryInen gaped as tho process
sion passed. They had seen Naaman go past
like a whirlwind in days gone by, and had
stood aghast at the clank of his war equip
ments; but now they commiserate him.
They say: "Poor man, he will never get
home alivei Poor MANI General Naaman
wakes up from restless sleep in the chariot,
and he says to the charioteer: How long
before we shall reach this Prophet Elisha'sa'
The charioteer says to wavsider: 'sHow
far is it to Elisha's housef Hesays: 1.-TWO
miles, 1.-TWO miles, Then they whip up
the lathered and fagged-out horses. The
whole procession brightens up at the pros
pect Of speedy arrival. They drive up to
the door Of the prophet. The characters
shout "whoaln to the horses. and the tramp.
ing hoofs and grinding wheels cease shaking
the earth.
Come out, Elisha, COMO out; you have
company; the grandest company that ever
came to your house has come to il now, M
stir inside Elisha's house. The fact was, the
Lord had informed Elisha that the sick cap
tain was coming and just how to treat him.
wants you to get well, he always tells the
doctor how to treat you: and the reason we
have so many bungling doctors is because
they depend upon their ownstrength and in
structions and not on the Lord God, and
that always makes malpractice. Come out,
Elisha. and attend to your business. Cen
eral Naaman and his retinue wait,d and
waited and waited. The fact was, Naaman
had two diseases-pride and leprosy; the one
was as hard to get rid of as the other. Eli
sha sits quietly in his house and does not go
out After while, when he thinks he has
BUNDLED this proud man, he says to SER
want: go out and tell General Naaman tc
battle seven times in the river Jordan, out
yonder five miles, and he will get entirely
well.n
The message comes out "Whatr' says the
Commander-in-C Chief of the Assyrian forces
his eye kindling with animation which it had
not shown for weeks, and his swollen foot
stamping on the bottom Of the chariot, re-
CARELESS Of pain. "What Isn't he coming
out to see mel Why, thought certainly he
would come and utter some cabalistc words
over me or make some enigmatical passes
over my wounds. Why, l don't think he
knows who am; Isn't ne coming outl Why,
when the Shunamite woman came to him, he
rushed out and cried: is it well with thee2 Is
it well with thy husband! Is it well with the
child? and will he treat poor unknown
woman like that, and let me. titled person
age, sit here in my chariot and wait and
wait. / won't endure it any longer. Chariot
eer, drive on Wash in the Jordanl Hal
hal The Shiny Jordan-the muddy Jordan
the monotonous Jordan. l wouldn't be seen
washing in such river as that. Why, we
watered our horses in q better river than
that on our way here the beautiful river, the
iasper-payed river of Pharpar. Besides that,
we have in our country another Damascene
river, ALBANIA, with foliaged bank and torrent
ever swift and ever clear, under the flicker.
ing shadows of sycamore and oleander. Are
not ALBANIA and Pharpar, rivers Of Damascus,
better than all the waters Of 1sraelF'
Isuppose Naaman felt very much as we
would feel il, by way of medical prescrip-
tion some one should tell us to go and wash
in the Danube or the Rhine. We would an
swerl Are not the Connecticut and the
Hudson Just as good| Or, as an Englshman
would feel if he were told, by way of meii-
cal prescription, he must go and wash in the
Mississippi or the St. Lawrence. He would
cry out: "Are not the Thames and the Shan
non just as well~ The fact was, that naughty
Naaman needed to learn what every Eng
lishmen and every American needs to learn
that when God tells you to do thing, you
must go and do it, whether you understand
the reason or not Take the prescription,
whether you like it or not One thing is GER
tain; unless naughty Naaman does as Elisha
commands him. he viii die Of his awful sick
ness. And unless you do as Christ COM
mands you, you will be seized upon by an
everlasting wasting way. Obey and live
disobey and die. Thrilling, over-arching,
under-girding, stupendous alternativel
Well, General Naaman could not stand the
test The charioteer gives JERK to the right
line until the bit snaps in the horses mouth
and the whirr Of the wheels and the flying
of the dust show indignation of the great
commander "He turned and went away in
rage So people now often get mad at re-
ligion. They vituperate against ministers,
against churches, sgainst Christian people,
One would think from their irate behavior
that God had been studying how to annoy
and exasperate and demolish them. What
has He been doingl Only trying to cure
their death-dealing leprosy. That Is all. Yet
they whip up their horses, they dig in tho
spurs and they 60 away in rage.
So, after all, 1t seems that this health OK
cursion Of General Naaman is to be q dead
failure. That little Hebrew captive might